Washing Machine literally blew up last night!
- Thread starter littlepuppy
- Start date
In what way reliability?
Bosch gear tends to built like a tank, but it won't have all the bells and whistles.
When I switch to the dryer, the drum spins but produces no heat. So thermostat is needed (£11) and he also said the fan motor, which is a small component and a black fan attached, has stopped working (£87). While he was there I asked him if the rest of the washer dryer needed anything else and he just said brushes (£20). So really, that's not a lot to do considering the age of the machine. And he's knocked off the VAT for cash. A lot cheaper than buying a new machine. A new one would be very nice since mine doesn't have any fancy gadgetry like digital readouts or electronic buttons, it's all manual knobs. I'd buy a new one but I'm about to spend thousands on refurbing my flat.
Here's the old girl
So you spent £150 on a 15 year old machine. If the drum turned during the cycle you didn't need brushes.
It is also very rare that the thermostat for the heater and fan motor fails together. Could you not her the fan when the dryer was drying?
It is also very rare that the thermostat for the heater and fan motor fails together. Could you not her the fan when the dryer was drying?
Well they've failed according to a qualified repairman. The brushes could still be used but he recommended new ones once he'd pulled them out and looked. Are you implying he doesn't know what he's doing?
As far as spending money on an old machine, granted, it 'might' be false economy, I don't really know.
If they failed how could you continue to use them?
Well there was no heat being produced during the dryer cycle, so I'm presuming that's the thermostat failed. I don't really know much about the fan motor, but if it's a motor that makes a fan work, why couldn't that have failed? Surely that's nothing to do with allowing the drum to spin is it? And the brushes he told me are perishables that looked worn and were worth replacing.
Anyway, here's the upshot of it all. You put the seed of doubt in my mind and I decided, sod it, I'll buy a new machine.
I just called the repairman to put him on hold but he's already ordered the parts online.
I forgot to say that I'd given him £50 deposit because he says he often gets customers changing their minds after he's ordered and paid for parts. He said I'd lose 25% of that if I cancelled the order plus his call out charge, so basically, I would have lost the £50. So we're going to continue with the repairs. He put my mind at rest though and said the machine is in very good condition and will be fine, and that he guarantees his work for 6 months and will repair or replace for free in the event of anything going wrong. So, I'm sure it'll be ok for another year or two. It's not like I do two or three washes a week. I had my eye on a new Zanussi from John Lewis for £429. Oh well.
Don't get me wrong, the fan motors do fail, but they would not stop the drum turning.
Assuming he is right, it is 15 years old, the brushes are worn, the stat has failed and the motor has stopped working.
We wouldn't repair it, I can tell you that now.
Assuming he is right, it is 15 years old, the brushes are worn, the stat has failed and the motor has stopped working.
We wouldn't repair it, I can tell you that now.
Well I shall keep you informed if it breaks down for any reason in the next year or two, or less. But yeah, I didn't put too much thought into this one, just decided to get the repairman out. I thought it was about 8 years old or so. Had I realised I'd bought it in '97, I would have just gone for a new machine. I have confidence it will keep going forever though.
Actually, the exact figures are:
£87 fan motor
£11 thermostat
£20 brushes
£40 labour
So, £158.
Man of Honour
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OP -
You may be interested in next weeks Watchdog.
They've just shown a picture of a blown up Indesit.
You may be interested in next weeks Watchdog.
They've just shown a picture of a blown up Indesit.
Soldato
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So is it actually your machine/story on watchdog? i might just get the parents to set it to record if it is
Soldato
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Looks like il be giving Hotpoint products a miss then.
So is it actually your machine/story on watchdog? i might just get the parents to set it to record if it is
lol nono thats not our story, just our machine looked the same model indesit they showed.
Soldato
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aww, they should have shown your machine
ours has been really good actually, high spin still very close to the same noise as new (about 2 years old?) but a lot of my washing is 30c 600 low spin on a quick 30min wash, which is #11 on the dial thing.
maybe down to fitters not removing travelling bolts, which ours did'nt initially and it started jumping all over the the kitchen, 3 weeks of hand washing your own clothes, not fun!
maybe down to fitters not removing travelling bolts, which ours did'nt initially and it started jumping all over the the kitchen, 3 weeks of hand washing your own clothes, not fun!
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Looks like il be giving Hotpoint products a miss then.
And Indesit, Ariston & Creda are made with the same parts at the same factory.
Soldato
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I'm not a fireman, and I don't know if it is a common occurrence but both my brother and sister have had washing machines catch fire. Luckily, on both occasions they were in, and it was day time. Some localised damage, but in the main the outcome was the best it could have been.
However, if they had been out at the time they would not have had a home to come back to.
Going to bed I would suspect the smoke alarms would pick up the first stages of a fire, but even so, its not an ideal thing to happen.
Both fires appear to have been caused by something sticking in the motor whilst it was on spin cycle causing excessive heat and then combustion.
Now I never go out and leave my washer running, or leave it running when I go to bed. Call me alarmist, but I simply don't want to take the risk after seeing what can happen to washing machines when they go wrong.
As for the OP - impressive spin failage there
I suspect your work top contained a lot of the damage and without it you may have been asking for a plasterer to repair your ceiling 
Buff